


Danse Nocturne

by Lilium00



Category: Time Crisis (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilium00/pseuds/Lilium00
Summary: [Vampire AU] Giorgio was a vampire whose family had been massacred. Wild Dog was a vampire hunter who wanted to wipe all vampires out of existence. Evan was an average young man caught in the middle.





	1. Dusk

**Author's Note:**

> 100% prompted by the reddish eyes of Giorgio's 3D model.  
> Chapter titles are things related to 'night'. Let's see how long Evan can survive staying a human without being bitten XDD  
> Length-wise, I'm hoping that this won't get longer than 'Hay or Water?'  
> Enjoy! :DD
> 
> Special thanks to June Ellie for beta reading and grammar checking!

**【Chapter 1: Dusk】**

_Palermo, Sicily_

Nighttime. A comfortable darkness blanketed the world in calm and peace. Finished with the day's toil, most creatures fell into a relaxing and pleasant slumber, but it was not the case for a certain district in the heart of Palermo.

The night sky was lit by fire as the Bruno Family's grand mansion burned.

"Father! Stay with me!" Giorgio called out with a trembling voice, tears pouring down his cheeks as he held his dying father in his arms.

The shadows of fire danced across his desperate face, glinting against the long canines of his gritted teeth and his unnaturally reddish eyes. All around him, bright red pools bloomed under the countless dead bodies of his brothers as they laid among the flowers. Everything was in chaos. Holding back the pain of the multiple bullets that had penetrated his torso, Giorgio was at a loss of what to do.

"Giorgio... Son...!" Giovanni gripped tightly at Giorgio's sleeve with his bloodied hands, his voice hoarse as he coughed out more blood. "You must go...! Leave!"

An explosion. Giorgio cringed. From beyond the flames, heavy foreboding footsteps were heard coming towards them, step by steady step. Giorgio held his father closer to him protectively.

The smoke cleared to reveal a dandy, middle-aged man dressed neatly in a trench coat. The gun in his hand was the scythe of the grim reaper, and the flames reflected in his round purple glasses were much like the fires of hell itself. He promptly stopped in front of the two, a strong aura of strength and authority surrounding him.

"Ah, Giovanni Bruno, Giorgio Bruno..." the man said, wiping the blood off the cross carved in his silver gun with a handkerchief. "The name's Wild Dog. Vampire hunter. I've taken care of the rest of the Brunosーthe two of you should be the last survivors here. I'm surprised an entire family of vampires could remain undercover for so long without my notice. Hahaha."

Giovanni struggled and forced himself to stand back up, standing in front of Giorgio protectively. "You! This is madness! The Bruno Family has never attacked any human for blood. What have you got against us?!" He protested.

"Oh? Whether you actually do any harm or not, you still pose a possible threat for humanity," Wild Dog said without pity, holding his gun up and pointing it at his prey. "I'm simply... doing my job to cleanse this world."

"Then I guess it can't be helped," Giovanni responded. With a wave of his hand, the blood flowing from his wounds swirled and solidified into a longsword. Giovanni gripped onto it, pointing it at Wild Dog. "We'll have to protect ourselves."

"Father! You can't be serious!" Giorgio grabbed his arm, urging him to stop. There was no way he could win with his current condition. Giovanni shoved a pouch into his hands and pushed him away.

"Take that and get away from here, Giorgio!"

"But father!"

Wild Dog laughed, firing at them. Giovanni blocked the attack with his sword. The bullets having been treated with holy water, the ones that managed to graze his skin caused severe burns. Giovanni gritted his teeth painfully.

"GO!" He urged Giorgio as he charged at Wild Dog. Giorgio refused. He was planning to aid his father, but a shower of bullets stopped him.

"Wild Fang here! Survivors spotted! AHAHAHA!" Manic laughter was heard as Wild Dog's men arrived, attacking Giorgio with their own weapons.

Dodging their attacks and being pushed back, Giorgio saw Wild Dog deal the finishing blow, taking the life of his last remaining family member.

_'Father...'_

Giorgio's heart sank. Holding back both sadness and anger, he turned and made a swift escape. The last things he heard as he took cover in the darkness of the night were the echoes of Wild Dog's demonic laughter and the eternal crackling of the inferno.

_You can run, but you can't hide._

* * *

_A few days later, Paris, France 18:21_

Dusk had fallen. It was Halloween.

The sun had completely set and the festivities were in full swing in the City of Lights. This year, a lot of food stalls had been set up along the Seine. Children dressed in the costumes of various monsters and ghosts ran around laughing happily as they played with each other and asked for sweets. Some adults joined in the fun with very realistic, terrific makeup, scaring their friends as well as unsuspecting passers-by. Everyone was having a lot of fun.

" _Messieurs! Les bonbons, s'il vous plaît~_ Trick or treat!" The three children of Evan's neighbor asked him cheerfully when they bumped into him and his friend Bastien in the streets. This year, the kids were dressed as three little vampires. Mischievous looks on their faces, they were all ready to pull a prank on Evan if he didn't have any candies with him.

"Oh! Guess what, kids? You're not going to get me again this time! I know you've been waiting to ambush me," Evan laughed. He pulled out a huge pack of sweets from his bag, making the children's eyes shine with excitement. He passed them the sweets.

"Run along and have fun now. And promise to be good kidsーno weird pranks!" He said. The children nodded eagerly, thanking him and running off to play.

"That was quite generous," Bastien laughed, wondering a little about what they had done to Evan last year. Must have been something quite horrible to get his friend so fully prepared today.

"Just happy to see that they're having fun," Evan grinned. But then the next moment, a deep sigh escaped him, his shoulders slumping down wearily.

"...? Something wrong?" Bastien asked.

"Well... _Non._ I just hope I can have a little more fun in my own life. Things haven't been going very well recently, _tu sais_ (you know)?" Evan answered.

"Hm? I'm all ears," Bastien said with concern.

"My construction job. I'm currently tasked with doing a pretty difficult project with that skyscraper over there," Evan said, pointing at a half-built building on the horizon. "I don't think I can handle it. Everyone else seems to be doing okay, and I'm the only one tiring out. I feel like I'm such a loser."

" _Alors_ , Ev, we all know that that's not true."

"Oh, that's easy for _you_ to say! You won't understand because you're not the one doing the job!" Evan snapped angrily. " _Mon Dieu,_ if only there's one thing in this world that I can do right!"

"..." Bastien looked at him worriedly without a word. Evan remained quiet for a moment, before realizing that he probably stepped over a line there. Bastien was just trying to help him and he was being such a jerk.

"...Bastien, _désolé_ (sorry)," he apologized immediately. "I think I've just had a long week... Either way, I've asked for a break from work so I can clear my mind. I think I'll just go home and go to bed early tonight."

"But... Evan!"

Evan turned and walked away quickly, ignoring Bastien's worried calls.

* * *

_'Merde, why's everything so shitty?'_ Evan thought to himself as he kicked a pebble, walking with his hands in his coat pocket.

He had taken a quieter road towards his apartment, away from all the cheerful people and festivitiesーthe bright mood just made him feel so left out and he didn't feel like he belonged there. He felt so small and insignificant as he walked alone down the narrow backstreet.

Evan knew very well that life was full of challenges and that he should take it as it came. The only problem was that he'd never know whether or not he would succeed, and the fear of everything being nothing but a wasted effort had never been so great.

Frustrated, he took in a deep breath, looking up to the night sky as if the universe would provide him with an answer.

...Of course, nothing came. What was he thinking? He felt a little foolish. It was then that he heard the light, miserable sobbing of a woman.

"...?!" Surprised, Evan looked around.

Paying attention to the voice, it seemed to have come from an alley to his left. He rushed there, finding a young woman sitting by the dustbins, shoulders shaking as she sobbed pitifully into her hands. Her skin was pale, her hair was disheveled, and her little dress was torn and covered in blood in various places. She wasn't wearing any shoes.

Halloween makeup? Did her boyfriend dump her in the middle of a date or something? Evan wasn't sure, but she definitely wasn't looking so good. He felt sorry and worried for her, so he approached her and knelt down.

" _Excusez moi, mademoiselle. ...Tout va bien?_ (Is everything alright?)" He asked with a little hesitance.

The woman stopped sobbing, slowly lifting her head to look up at him. She had a charming face and beautiful red lips. Evan thought that there was a strange reddish glimmer in her eyes, but it could have just been his imagination. Either way, he decided to try and comfort her.

"Well, this is not a nice place for a lady to hang out in. Let's get you somewhere better so you can calm down. I'll come with you if you want, alright?" Evan offered gently with a kind smile.

The woman didn't answer, but her gaze seemed to be fixated on him. She looked at him in a somewhat... unsettling manner, if Evan could put it that way. Her eyes trailed down from his face to his exposed neck, her gaze holding as much interest as that of a man who had just stumbled upon the world's greatest treasure.

" _Euh..._ Mademoiselle...?" Evan asked, feeling a little uneasy.

To his surprise, the woman suddenly launched herself at him with a gut-wrenching screech. Evan screamed in shock.

"PUTAIN! What the FUCK?!" He cursed as the woman knocked him down to the ground with the strength of a wrestler, madness and psychopathy gleaming in her now brightly-lit red eyes. As she grinned, Evan thought that he saw vampire canines, his eyes widening in horror.

"SHIT!"

With little to no effort, she wrenched Evan's arm away and made a dive for his neck. Evan used his other arm to knock her away with his bag, narrowly avoiding her bite. Kicking her off of him, Evan quickly got to his feet. As he attempted to escape, the woman grabbed him by the legs, pulling him down before pinning him against the ground again with both his hands beside his head.

"FUCK...!" Evan cursed in panic as the woman loomed over him. Try as he might, he couldn't escape her grip, which had the firmness of iron shackles.

Chuckling like an evil witch, she leaned in to lick his neck as if to check his taste. Evan could only curse and shudder helplessly, feeling as though he was a hare in a lion's claws. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed for his life. But just as the woman was about to bite him, she suddenly froze.

"...?"

Feeling no pain, Evan peeked, seeing the woman stiffen with a red sword pierced through her heart from the back, her blood dripping onto his shirt. Her consciousness fading away, the woman dropped to his side lifelessly. Evan looked up to see a tall brown-haired man clad in a red greatcoat looming over him.

As if by reflex, Evan quickly pulled back and moved away, hurriedly scurrying to his feet.

"What in the world?! What did you just do?!" He yelled, looking up and down between the man and the woman's dead body, not really comprehending what just happened. Had he just witnessed a murder? Was that woman really dead?

"If this is just some elaborate Halloween prank, you're not getting away with this! EXPLAIN!" He demanded frantically.

"Vampires," the man standing before him told him with an exhausted voice. He sounded so tired and old for his young and handsome face, swaying and moving unstably as if he could collapse any second. Evan watched him cautiously, noticing the man's badly torn and bloodied coat. The man continued, trying to speak despite his fatigue.

"If... If they don't feed on blood for a long time, they'll lose to their natural instincts and turn mad like that, attacking anything in sight for food," he explained, looking to the woman with pity. "There's no saving them once they've become like that. Death is the only mercy left for them."

"Whー... I'm sorry, monsieur, but I'm afraid you're not making any sense...!" Evan protested, unsure whether this was still part of the prank. He was feeling quite scared now.

"Whatever you want to believe. A great number of those might show up soon. Just... be carefulー..." the man trailed off as he felt light-headed, the exhaustion finally overtaking him. Evan caught him before he could fall to the ground.

"..." Evan wasn't sure what to make of what he had just seen and heard. A strange noise came from beside him. When he looked, he saw the dead woman's body slowly disintegrating into ashes, leaving nothing behind as though she had never existed.

" _Putain..._ "

Everything was so weird that Evan didn't know what to think anymore. After calling the ambulance, he dug into the coat pockets of the unconscious man he held in his arms, in case he could find any of the man's emergency contacts or the like. He found the man's identity card in his wallet.

"Monsieur Giorgio Bruno... From Sicily?" Evan said quietly to himself as he read the name and address written on the card.

Unfortunately, the man had no phone or anything else with him. Evan sighed in exasperation.

This was going to be a long night.


	2. Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worldbuilding, worldbuilding~

**【Chapter 2: Moon】**

_Evan's apartment, Paris 22:07_

When Giorgio came to, he found himself lying uncomfortably on a sofa. His arms feeling quite stiff and restricted, he glanced down, seeing that his wrists had been tied together with a plastic rope. Looking around, he saw that he was in an averagely-sized apartment room. There was a circle of garlic and rice grains on the floor surrounding his sofa as if they were some sort of barrier. He raised an eyebrow curiously.

"So... Monsieur Bruno, is it? You're awake." He heard a voice from in front of him. Looking up, he saw the young man he had saved just a few hours ago, a string of garlic hanging around his neck and what seemed to be a makeshift stake in his trembling hands. "Is English... alright with you?" He asked nervously.

"Yes," Giorgio replied, feeling rather amused, "I have friends in various countries, so I thought it'd be convenient to know a few languages."

"Okay... I'm Evan. Evan Bernard," Evan introduced himself nervously. "Called the ambulance, but the doctors said that they didn't find any wounds on you. Said that you're just exhausted and that you need some rest. I didn't find any emergency contacts on you though, so... well..." Evan tried to gather himself.

"I checked and I saw that you have the teeth. Are you one of them, too? I was thinking of just leaving you and walking awayーpretend that I didn't see anything. I don't want to get involved, but hell... After what you said to me, I'd certainly LOVE some explanations," he elaborated.

"Oh," Giorgio said, thinking for a moment, "Made the wrong choice, signor. Should've been smart and just left me there."

He sat up, before twisting his wrists and pulling at the rope binding them, ripping it off easily by sheer force. Evan flinched, taking a step back. He watched in horror as whatever lesions the action caused on Giorgio's wrists closed up almost immediately.

With a little heave, Giorgio stood up, walking over the circle of rice and garlic around the sofa as if they had no effect on him. He made his way towards Evan, who continued moving back until he was up against a wall. Giorgio stopped in front of him, watching his nervous specimen of a human. Evan held his breath as his heart thumped, looking up into Giorgio's blood-red eyes.

"That's cute of you to think that these actually work," he said, slowly removing the string of garlic from around Evan's neck and studying it. "Well, it works on the young ones, but not on higher-ranking pureblood nobles like me," he said, dropping it on the floor. Evan winced a little with the thump.

"And forget about that stakeーsuch a flimsy one won't do you any good. Besides, I'm not planning to eat you," Giorgio assured him, stepping away a little to give Evan some space.

Giorgio moved towards the window, looking outside to see how the full moon seemed to rule the night, making all the happenings under it seem mysterious and beautiful. But tonight, the moon had a particularly ominous glow, as if it was a bad omen for what was about to happen. Despite still feeling rather shaken and scared of everything, Evan relaxed a little.

"Well, okay. You're not dangerous. Tell me a few things, then?" Evan asked. "If there's really some sort of vampire apocalypse coming, I certainly want to be prepared. And how'd you suddenly show up? I thought vampires are just stories that people made up!"

Giorgio turned to look at him quietly for awhile, wondering where to begin explaining. Once he had everything organized in his head, he started. "We've been here since the Middle Ages. If the vampires were really just 'stories', the mass vampire hysteria of the 17th and 18th century wouldn't have happened, would it?"

Evan tilted his head a little, reminded that there was indeed such a period in European history. Commonly referred to as the 18th-Century Vampire Controversy, it was a period where numerous sightings and attacks of vampires had been reported, causing an outbreak of panic throughout the continent. People were paranoid enough to the extent of executing those accused of being vampires, and burying corpses with various methods to prevent their revival as the abhorred bloodsucking monsters. Giorgio continued.

"At the time, the vampires knew that they were stronger than the humans, and they thought that the world was theirs for the taking," Giorgio explained, "Naturally, exorcist and vampire hunter organizations were made to counter the attacks, resulting in a great war and countless deaths from both sides. Eventually, the pain of losing loved ones became too much for the vampires to bear, so they chose to retreat into the shadows, deciding to look for other food sources without attacking the humans. Peace returned then, and we stayed out of each other's way. The vampires faded into history and became nothing but creatures of mythology."

"..." Evan felt a little sympathetic, but still, a question nagged at him. "So... Why did you suddenly show up now?"

Giorgio sighed, flashes of fire from his most recent experience dancing like a nightmare in his mind. "Well, the tragic past resulted in some bad blood. Wild Dog, a certain vampire hunter hailing from the peak of the war, sold his soul to the devil for immortality in order to wipe every last vampire off the face of the Earth. Unbeknown to us, he's been building an army and has recently started smoking us all out of hiding. Him cutting access to our food sources resulted in the mad vampire woman you saw earlier. He seems to have something against us."

"Hey, that's just unfair!" Evan said, "Why'd he deliberately look for trouble?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I can't say that every single vampire is a good kid either. Much like how every classroom has one or two rotten apples, some of us misbehave. Fresh human blood is always more... appealing, after allーmuch better than the packaged blood donations given by the secret communities supporting us. Add that to Wild Dog's biased views and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. He wiped out my entire family although we have nothing to do with him."

There was bitterness in Giorgio's voice. He took a deep breath, trying his best to prevent a flood of bottled emotions from spilling over.

"..." Evan walked a little closer to him, feeling the need to offer some comfort. On the other hand, he couldn't help but shudder a little, feeling as though he had just come face to face with a ticking time bomb after listening to Giorgio's explanation.

"...What are you going to do now?" He asked Giorgio worriedly.

"Leave. An ancient vampire elder by the name of Richard Miller offers sanctuary in his hidden castle," Giorgio replied, "I was on my way there when I ran into you. Now, if you'll excuse mー"

He stopped mid-sentence as he reached into his pocket, only to realize that he wasn't wearing his coat. "My coat! The pouch...!" Giorgio exclaimed, feeling around his other pockets before looking at the sofa and around the room.

"Your coat's hanging there to dry after I washed it," Evan pointed out. "Pouch's on the table with your wallet." Giorgio quickly dived for it, a sigh of relief escaping him only after he had checked its contents.

"What's that?" Evan asked curiously. Giorgio took out a ring with a peacock engraved on it, studying it to make sure that it wasn't damaged.

"The Bruno Family seal. I'll need it as a pass to enter Richard's castle," he said, slipping it onto his finger, before putting the pouch and his wallet into his pants pockets. He then walked over to get his still half-dry coat.

"I'd better leave quickly. And you, do your best to stay out of this," he warned Evan as he put on his coat in a hurry. But then his head suddenly felt heavy and his surroundings began to sway. Giorgio put a hand against the wall to maintain his balance.

"Monsieur Brunー... Yー lright...?" He heard Evan's worried voice echo in a strange way.

Giorgio saw Evan come closer and hold him to give him some support. But oh, that delicious, inviting smell of iron rising from beneath his skin. His brain stopped identifying Evan as a human and more as a freshly cooked luxury dish prepared by the best chef in the world. His starving stomach begged for a bite.

Resisting his thoughts, Giorgio suddenly shoved Evan away with enough force to send him crashing to the ground.

" _Ouf!_ " Evan flinched. "Hey! I was just trying to help!" He said, looking up at Giorgio with protest.

"STAY BACK!" Giorgio warned harshly, a hand grabbing his head as he glared at Evan with the most miserable look on his face.

He turned away immediately, trying to direct his attention away from the young man as he tried to fight back his instincts. There was a sharp ache in his head as if an iron rod had been driven into it. He fell to his knees and elbows, panting helplessly. Evan looked at him in fear.

_"If they don't feed on blood for a long time, they'll lose to their natural instincts and turn mad. There's no saving them once they've become like that. Death is the only mercy left for them."_

Giorgio's words repeated themselves in Evan's head.

"Shit!" Evan cursed, quickly getting to his feet. He rushed to his kitchen, opening the drawers and grabbing one of his knives in a hurry. After taking a moment to overcome his fear, he braced himself and made a huge cut on his left palm, flinching at the pain. After making sure that his blood was flowing nicely out of the cut, he rushed back to Giorgio's side.

"Here!" Evan offered quickly, but Giorgio pulled away instantly.

"NO! I'm not drinking the blood of humans! If you have a cross or something, give me that! I'd rather die!" He retorted in a frenzy.

"Well, I'm GIVING the blood to you! You saved my life earlier and I'm not going to just abandon you!" Evan insisted.

"NO, I SAID!"

"Just fucking take it!"

After a rather awkward struggle, Evan ended up simply sticking his hand onto Giorgio's lips, forcing the blood down his throat.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two found themselves sitting down on the sofa together, waiting for each other to settle down. Evan stayed quiet as he picked at the clean bandages rolled around his left hand. Giorgio took a nearby tissue and wiped at his mouth again to make sure that no blood was left there. Although he had drunk only a small amount, it was enough to let him regain some control of himself for now.

"Well... I guess you can thank me later," Evan joked a little as he looked at Giorgio, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Giorgio sighed.

"Signor Bernard, may I tell you that to us vampires, fresh human blood can cause an amazing addiction? It's a thousand times worse than what cigarettes and drugs can do to you humans. One drop of that, and suddenly everything else will taste horrible. Right now, I'd say that you're smelling incredibly delicious."

"..." Evan stared at him silently for a moment, before apologizing. "Sorry," he said, despite having no idea how else things could have ended. Giorgio stood up, tidying his coat.

"Well, what's done is done. I'll leave before I start getting any withdrawal symptoms and cause you more harm. The secret community at Le Havre should be able to provide me with some blood supplies. _Buonanotte._ (Good night.)"

"Wait, let me come with you!" Evan said, standing up. Giorgio looked at him as if he was crazy.

"I don't want your withdrawal symptoms to cause you to attack other humansーtheir deaths would become _my_ responsibility! At least let me escort you to Le Havre," Evan offered. "I hope you don't mind having to bear with a little more 'addictive blood' until you arrive? Only if you ever need some, of course."

Giorgio looked at him. Either this man before him was exceptionally brave or just horribly stupid. He looked up and thought for awhile, weighing the pros and cons of the offer.

It would certainly be safer to have Evan as a safeguard with him in case of an emergency, considering how a powerful vampire such as himself would most likely cause massive destruction if he were to lose his mind. Evan being a local would also be a great help in getting to his destination quickly.

"Fine, I'll take you up on that offer," Giorgio decided, making up his mind to do his best not to give in to whatever funny ideas his instincts might have on the way.

"Let's go."


	3. Omen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having fun writing all sorts of weird things OuO

**【Chapter 3: Omen】**

_SNCF Train 02:03_

Just a little before midnight, Giorgio and Evan had taken a train from Paris' Saint-Lazare station, following Evan's suggestion of the fastest route. Heading straight for the port city of Le Havre, the journey would take about two and a half hours, so they should arrive at their destination in the next 30 minutes or so.

Despite having said that he'd stay awake throughout the trip, Evan had nodded off and fallen asleep about an hour ago. Giorgio had the urge to nudge him awake, wondering how he could let his guard down while traveling with someone like him. But as Evan looked quite worn out, he decided to let the human rest, studying him with some interest.

 _'Humans... So weak and so fragile...'_ he thought to himself.

Evan's dull senses, his lack of physical strength and stamina, his slow recovery... Giorgio had the confidence that if they were supposed to fight, he could take him down in a matter of seconds. It was a mystery to him how these easy to break creatures could even survive in this harsh world for so long.

Being only 29, Giorgio himself was a young vampire, still having a lot of things he didn't know about world around him. The Bruno Family he came from was a covenーa community of vampires that was led by his father. They took in all those who were living in hiding and saw each other as brothers, supporting each other and living a secret but happy life. Giorgio had been quite sheltered during his upbringing, and this was the first time he had traveled all by himself among the humans.

But despite that, he didn't feel the least bit nervous or scared, knowing that he was far superior to all of them physically. He suddenly understood a little why there would be some vampires who would see it as a chance to abuse their powers.

Even so, he considered Wild Dog's thirst for vengeance to be certainly over the top. The Bruno Family had done nothing to deserve being massacred. Having ran with all his strength since the incident, the despair and sadness of losing his home and family only managed to catch up with Giorgio now that things had settled down. His nails dug deep into his palms as he looked out of the window with a frown. There was something feral deep within him that wanted to see Wild Dog dead.

"Monsieur Bruno...?"

Evan's voice jolted him back to reality. Looking in Evan's direction, he saw that the young man had woken up, trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Giorgio asked. Evan shook his head, proceeding to rub at and bend his neck.

"Nah. Neck felt stiff. Sorry for falling asleep," he apologized. " _You_ don't look too good, though. Hungry again?" He asked Giorgio, fidgeting a little uneasily.

"...No. I think I should be fine for a few more hours. Don't worry about me," Giorgio replied calmly.

Evan sighed in relief, leaning back against his chair. The train's engine hummed on. Being a late-night train, there were only a few passengers on board and most of them were asleep. It felt as though the two of them were the only ones there. Evan stayed quiet for awhile, before working up the courage to ask Giorgio another question.

"Thinking about your family, aren't you?"

"I... don't think I want to talk about it," Giorgio replied frankly. His voice was heavy and bitter. Evan looked at him for a moment, before looking up at the ceiling and recalling how Giorgio had said he'd lost everyone. It must have been devastating.

"Well... It might be a bit weird, but you know what? I can be your brother if you want," Evan offered, "Or friend. Whatever's more comfortable for you."

Giorgio turned to look at Evan with a raised eyebrow, wondering if it was a joke. Evan looked back at him earnestly.

"I left my entire family in Rouen when I moved to Parisーalone with no one to count on in the big city. It was quite scary before I managed to make my first friend," he explained, "So yeah, if you get to that castle and things don't work out, I give you permission to come back to my apartment and give me a jump scare any time you please."

Giorgio laughed a little. "Oh, thanks for the kindness, but I'll warn you that vampires are quite a handful to keep as roommates, if that's what you're thinking about!"

"Hey! I meant what I said!" Evan laughed back, before giving Giorgio a sincere grin. "I was brought up to help those in need!"

Giorgio smiled a little at him, wondering if the humans weren't as weak as he had originally thought, after all.

"Alright. I might just drop by if it ever came to that, Signor Bernard," he replied, feeling a little cheered up.

"Please, just call me Evan!" Evan said happily. "So... Friends?"

"Friends. Feel free to call me Giorgio as well!"

* * *

_Le Havre 02:53_

Upon arriving at Le Havre, Giorgio had produced a small piece of paper from inside his wallet, showing it to Evan. Evan had looked at the address written on it and led Giorgio to the designated area. The two ended up walking into a quiet, misty area in a ship scrapyard near the docks.

"You sure this is the right place?" Evan asked, shivering a little from the chilly night wind as he hugged himself and stayed close to Giorgio.

Piles of scrap metal laid everywhere in a mess. Giant, rusty ships towered over them from all around, the contours of their broken, incomplete forms lit by the moon and casting monster-like shadows. The vessels in the yard varied from old cruise ships to destroyed cargo ships, once grand but now out of use. An eerie and forlorn air much like that of a graveyard hung in the area, and every bit of Evan's instincts told him that he shouldn't be here.

"Our secret communities tend to have their bases hidden in places like these." Giorgio sounded unperturbed, walking ahead. "We figured that the creepier it is, the less likely it is for you humans to hang around and run into us."

"Well, that certainly worked, alright!" Evan agreed immediately. He swore he felt multiple pairs of eyes watching him constantly, and he thought he saw some shadows flit between the piles of junk from the corner of his eye.

An old, rusty piece of metal creaked and fell from atop a pile of scraps with a loud clang, giving Evan the shock of his life. Yelping in fear, he immediately grabbed onto Giorgio's arm, shivering and clinging to Giorgio the rest of the way. Giorgio quietly stifled a laugh.

Eventually, the two of them walked into a giant hole in the hull of a rusty cargo ship. Evan was surprised to see several small electrical lights in there. Looking ahead over Giorgio's shoulder, he saw two bulky men clad in hooded black coats, guarding the entrance of what seemed to be an underground tunnel built beneath the ship.

"Who goes there?" One of the guards asked with a gruff voice. Evan saw the red glint in his eyes. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Giorgio's arm a little.

"Giorgio Bruno of the Bruno Coven," Giorgio said boldly, "I've come to seek some aid."

"Things have not been safe around here. Show us some proof of your identity," the guard replied cautiously.

Giorgio walked over to them confidently and held out his hand. The guard took it and studied the ring on his finger. Once the Bruno Family seal on it had been confirmed, Evan watched the guards kneel, kissing Giorgio's hand and saying words of reverence in an ancient language humanity had never known. He wondered whether Giorgio had a much higher ranking than he had imagined. The guards stood up.

"We've heard about the tragedy that had befallen the Bruno Coven. We're glad that you're unharmed, my lord," the guard said.

"We're ready to provide whatever help we can," the other guard added.

"Thank you," Giorgio said gratefully.

"And, what about the human?" The guard asked. Their attention was now directed at Evan, who could only freeze and look at them nervously. Giorgio thought for awhile, before walking back towards Evan.

"Evan, thanks for escorting me all the way here. You did a good job," Giorgio said gratefully. "Things might get dangerous after this, so I'd prefer that you don't get yourself involved any further. I'm afraid this is where we part."

"Oh. Yeah, umm... Sure! Glad that I've been helpful," Evan replied, trying to hide the fact that he felt a little sad that they had to part ways so abruptly. Nevertheless, he was glad that at least Giorgio would be alright after this.

"Take care, alright?" Evan grinned. "I hope I get to see you again someday. Hopefully in a better shape!"

Giorgio smiled back at him, before taking Evan's hand and kissing it gently.

"I won't forget this favor. Once things have settled down, I'll find a way to repay you. May we meet again, Evan."

* * *

An hour later, Evan found himself loitering around alone just outside the ship scrapyard. Giorgio had gone down the underground tunnel safely and one of the guards had kindly escorted him back outside. Things were supposed to have been over, but right now, Evan's brain continued to overheat and short-circuit as it replayed his last moments with Giorgio over and over again. It was too much for his little human brain to handle, so he tried to classify it as a mere 'culture shock'.

"Okay, this is stupid. I'd better get going," he muttered, patting his cheeks lightly and trying to get a hold of himself. Straightening up, he got ready to leave, turning slightly to give the scrapyard one last look.

This had been quite a crazy night. Once he returned home after this, his normal life would resume, as if nothing had happened. But after almost getting killed by a starving vampire woman, perhaps his daily life wasn't as bad as he had originally thought, after all.

"Well, I suppose you've just got to look on the bright side. Hope things go well for both of us, Giorgio," Evan said to himself, shrugging and smiling with a little optimism.

He was just about to leave when he suddenly saw some lights beyond the pile of containers ahead of him. Curious to see if it was a group of lost vampires who couldn't find the secret community's ship, Evan went there to have a peek. What he saw was rather unexpected.

There was a gathering of a huge number of people there, probably a hundred or so according to Evan's rough estimate. They were all clad in coats and brandishing various weapons with crosses and dogs etched into them. A man who seemed to be their leader stood atop a crate, his round purple glasses and purple coat making him stand out.

"Yes, Wild Fang speaking! Listen here~!" The man said with a strange excitement in his voice, gathering the attention of his underlings.

Once the place was quiet, a few of the men brought in a young couple bound in chains, shoving them to the ground in front of Wild Fang. Wild Fang laughed.

"Our little vampire friends here have confirmed that the secret community hideout is just below that ship over there!" He said, pointing to the ship that Evan and Giorgio had gone to earlier. "And what do you know? The tunnel down there also leads to the ships they use to get to Richard's hidden castle! What a jackpot!"

The men in the gathering cheered and laughed. The male vampire in front of Wild Fang looked up and begged him for mercy.

"Please! I've told you everything I know! Please let my girlfriend go as you've promised!" He pleaded desperately.

"Oh! Would you look at them beg!" Wild Fang only laughed. The next moment, he pressed his gun to his captive's forehead with a cold look in his eyes, making the vampire gasp in fear.

"That day when you vamps attacked us in cold blood? I haven't forgotten it a single bit," Wild Fang said with a dark smirk, the shadows cast on his face making him look like a demon. His captives froze, knowing that there was no salvation for them.

Evan looked away and flinched as he heard the merciless gunshots. The men in the gathering cheered. Standing over the corpses, Wild Fang raised his arms in the air victoriously.

"Men, finish with the preparations! Tonight we strike! Let's make uncle Wild Dog proud!" He declared proudly.

His men roared a battle cry in agreement. Evan covered his mouth as he gasped in utter shock and horror, taking a few steps back.

_'Non... I have to warn Giorgio!'_

Turning around, he ran back towards the secret community's ship as fast as his legs could carry him.


	4. Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Nope, I have no idea whether or not Le Havre actually has a ship scrapyard, so consider that part as artistic liberties :p  
> \- I love how this AU allowed me to do so many things I normally couldn't do in canon. Hahahaha! -is evil- XD  
> \- This is the first fic where I'm actually super evil towards the mob characters. R.I.P. guys... =u=;;

**【Chapter 4: Chaos】**

_Secret community base, ship scrapyard, Le Havre 04:21_

The tunnel beneath the ship led to a dock hidden in a huge cave. Upon his arrival, Giorgio had rushed straight to the hideout's infirmary, asking the vampires there for some blood supply before his starvation got the better of him.

A vampire nurse had kindly provided him with the packaged animal blood that they'd normally consume. Giorgio had taken it and almost thrown it all back up, swearing that he had never tasted something so disgusting in his life.

The back of his mind craved for human blood. He forced himself not to think about it, gulping down everything that was left in the package. The nurse looked at him worriedly. Choking and coughing as he dropped the package, Giorgio quickly grabbed a bottle of water to wash down the taste.

"I'll be fine. Thank you," he told the nurse. She nodded with a little uncertainty, taking the empty package.

"My lord, I should notify you that we've made some changes to our system," she said.

"Yes. Please tell me about it," Giorgio replied.

"As of late, there have been multiple hunter attacks on our ships. For everyone's safety, travel to Lord Miller's castle in Sercia will be done with a submarine from now on so that we can remain hidden. Our brothers abroad were kind enough to provide us with a vessel."

"That's convenient." Giorgio smiled at her. "Thanks for the effort."

"It's our duty to help each other at times like these," the nurse said, smiling back. "The earliest departure will be at Pier 1 in about half an hour. Have a safe trip."

Giorgio nodded, thanking her again and heading towards the piers.

* * *

"Out of the way! Out of the way! I need to speak with Giorgio!" Evan screamed at the top of his lungs as he shouldered everyone in the hideout aside, looking around frantically. One of the tall, bulky guards grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"What's a human doing here?!"

"Hunters! They're heading here! LOTS of them!" Evan cried in panic. His words gathered the attention of many of the vampires around him. The guard tightened his grip on Evan's arm threateningly.

"Listen, boy! We're already on edge here and we don't need you spreading unnecessary panic! How did _you_ even find us? I'm afraid I'll have to bring you in for questioning," the guard warned.

He was just about to drag Evan away, when a bullet was suddenly shot through his head.

"...?!" Evan's eyes widened in shock as he watched the guard's body fall lifelessly to the ground. The other vampires around him screamed. The roaring of motorcycles and wild laughter was heard from the tunnel behind him.

"KILL! Kill them all! HAHAHAHAHA!" Wild Fang's order was heard loud and clear. His men aimed their guns and began showering the vampires in the hideout with bullets, taking down several of them immediately. Evan ducked in terror.

"Those hunter fuckers!" The guards cursed. "Get the women and children to the submarine! We're feasting on these humans tonight!" One of them barked.

The rest of the male vampires cheered, hunger in their eyes. With their donated blood supplies running low, they didn't care anymore as long as they had something to eat. Ready with their claws and weapons, they charged fearlessly at the hunters, their eyes suddenly full of life and excitement. Hiding behind a crate, Evan watched as the scene before him evolved into a chaotic all-out war.

"Giorgio...!"

He was so scared that Giorgio would be caught in all this. Seeing the hunters shoot down so many vampires, Evan didn't want them to be aiming at his friend next. Determined to find Giorgio, he stood up, thinking of running further into the hideout.

But before he could leave the area, a motorcycle drove by him, swerving and stopping right in front of him to block his path. Gasping, Evan held his breath, stopping in his tracks. Sitting on the motorcycle was Wild Fang, tapping his gun's muzzle against his shoulder with a smirk.

"Yes, darling... Going somewhere?" Wild Fang whistled teasingly.

A shiver running down his spine, Evan took a few steps back. Two more motorcycles stopped behind him, destroying any hope he had of escaping. Evan froze. Peering from over his purple glasses, Wild Fang pointed his gun at Evan with a rather dissatisfied look.

"You know what? It always irks me how you vampires are always so dashing. It feels like a waste whenever I gun one down," he complained, looking Evan in the eye, "But I suppose you don't judge a book by its cover. Now if you'd just die with your rotten insides, I'llー...?!"

Evan's clear blue eyes.

_They were not red._

Wild Fang lowered his gun immediately, jumping off his motorcycle and walking up to Evan.

"...?" Afraid of him, Evan backed away, only to have Wild Fang grab him by the neck with one hand, lifting him up forcefully. He choked, gritting his teeth as he tried to break free from Wild Fang's grip.

"Hmm? No canines, either. You're a human!" Wild Fang exclaimed, dropping Evan upon his realization. Evan fell to the ground, coughing harshly as he held onto his bruised neck.

"Hahaha! You stupid enough to get caught and be turned into their plaything or what?!" Wild Fang laughed with amusement.

Evan glared at him, but with the increasing number of bodies falling left and right behind him, he knew that he was going to be killed on the spot if he were to retaliate, so he lied.

"Yes! And I want to see them dead! Take me with you!" He said in an almost demanding tone.

"Oh, I don't know who you are, but you're quite funny!" Wild Fang laughed. "Fine, come along. Maybe you'll be a good hunter candidate in future," he said with a smirk, grabbing Evan by the collar and dropping him onto his motorcycle's seat, before climbing onto it himself.

"Hold on tight!" He ordered. The engines of the motorcycles roared and they headed into the deeper reaches of the hideout.

Evan mentally prepared himself for his possible death.

* * *

Further in the hideout, the vampires were rushing their jobs, the staff ushering everyone into the submarine at Pier 1 while making sure that the vessel was properly refueled and restocked. A lot of the vampire women were crying, knowing that their husbands who were fighting Wild Fang were most likely never coming back.

Giorgio had chosen to stay behind with the guards instead of boarding the submarine, helping them rig the piers with explosives. The plan was to hold the hunters back and destroy the piers so that they would have no way of going after the submarine once it had departed.

At the moment, they had just finished setting up the explosives, waiting for the submarine to finish with its last preparations before departure.

"How much time until the submarine leaves?" Giorgio asked the head of the guards worriedly.

"15 minutes," the guard replied, "We hope that the others fighting for us out there will hold them back long enough." There was a sad look in the guard's eyes as he fell silent momentarily, thinking of his underlings. He then spoke to Giorgio again.

"Lord Bruno, you've done your part. Please board the submarine."

"And leave all of you to fight Wild Fang by yourselves?" Giorgio asked, a little anger in his voice, "I've fought him before. You'll need all the hands you can get if you want to even slow him down."

The guard held Giorgio's shoulder firmly, smiling at him. "It's the guards' job to protect everyone, sir. Our people need you. Please hurry!"

"Butー...!" Giorgio was about to protest, but his words were cut short by an explosion. He ducked with the guard.

Looking up after the smoke cleared, he saw that Wild Fang and his men had destroyed the gates leading to the piers.

"Ooh! A submarine? I swear these guys are getting sneakier every year!" Wild Fang said, hopping off his motorcycle. "Either way, you're all going down!"

Taking that as their cue, Wild Fang's men took out their guns, mercilessly attacking all the vampires in sight. The submarine wasn't ready and some of the vampires hadn't boarded yet. Everything fell into chaos as everyone ran for their lives.

Giorgio and the guards cursed, running forward to fight Wild Fang's men. In the middle of the battle, Giorgio spotted Evan, who had run away from Wild Fang's unattended motorcycle in order to avoid being shot. He saw Evan hide behind a container, seemingly scanning the area for something.

"EVAN!" Giorgio called out.

"Giorgio!" Evan called back, looking relieved. Giorgio ran over to him, skillfully evading the bullets and rolling behind the container to take cover with Evan. Despite Evan's happiness to see him, Giorgio grabbed him angrily by his collar.

"Did you tell those guys about this place?!" Giorgio snapped, a murderous look in his eyes.

"N-No! NEVER! I came to tell you that they're coming, but I was too late! I almost died, dammit!" Evan replied hurriedly, feeling a little pissed that Giorgio doubted him.

Giorgio glared at him before letting him go. He quickly looked out at the chaotic battlefield in front of him, before looking at the submarine and then at a clock hanging from the cave ceiling. He turned back to Evan.

"Fine, whatever! We're getting out of here," he said, deciding to spare Evan's explanations for later. "That submarine there will depart in 10 minutes. We're leaving in that," Giorgio explained, pointing at the vessel in the waters across the war zone.

"Okay," Evan said with a nod, but one glance at the chaos before him was all it took for his courage to leave him. "So... what's the plan?" He asked nervously, unsure if he could make it across unscathed.

Giorgio didn't say a word. Instead, he just grabbed Evan and lifted him up, slinging him over his shoulder and holding him tightly.

"Hey! What are youー," Evan protested.

"You humans are too slow. Just shut up and hold on tight. And I suggest closing your eyes!" Giorgio ordered.

"WHAT?!"

Straightening himself, Giorgio took in a deep breath. Once he was ready, he bolted straight into the battlefield, running towards the submarine.

Evan screamed at the sudden movement, wrapping his arms over his head to protect himself from the storm of bullets. Giorgio rushed on, using his free arm to shield himself and Evan from any incoming attack. As he ran, he saw some of the guards fall as they acted as his shield and took the bullets for him. Biting back his anger and sadness, Giorgio continued to run without looking back, not wanting to waste their lives.

He had almost made it to the stairs leading to the submarine's entrance when he suddenly felt a sharp pain, an explosive shell ripping his right leg clean off. Losing his balance, Giorgio crashed hard onto the ground, bringing Evan down with him. The holy water contained in the bullet caused severe pain that tore through his body. Giorgio screamed, clutching his thigh.

"Giorgio!" Evan yelled, getting to his knees. He had landed several meters away from Giorgio. Wild Fang's footsteps were heard as he arrived at the scene. He looked at Giorgio and recognized him immediately.

"Oh? Isn't this the Bruno vampire who escaped a few days ago? Cool! I get to settle my scores!" Wild Fang exclaimed excitedly. Looking to the side, he noticed Evan on the floor.

"Hm? Got kidnapped again, didn't you? Not to worry, Wild Fang's here to save you. Hahaha!" He laughed, pointing his pistol towards Giorgio's head.

"Wait!" Evan yelled.

"What?" Wild Fang glared at him, a little annoyed at the interruption. Evan stood up, walking towards them and stopping between Wild Fang and Giorgio. Gulping nervously, he forced himself to talk.

"I... This vampireーhe's the one who tortured me all this time! I'd like to kill him myself!"

Giorgio cracked an eye open, unsure whether the delirium caused by the pain was messing with his ears. Wild Fang stared at Evan for a moment, before falling into a fit of laughter.

"Hilarious! Hahaha!" He laughed, before looking at Evan again with an evil smirk. "Why, with that attitude, I think you'll actually make a good hunter. Why don't I let you have your first kill? Here," he said, tossing his pistol at Evan.

Evan promptly caught it, glaring back at Wild Fang. Turning around, he pointed the gun at Giorgio, his finger ready on the trigger. Giorgio gasped. But to his surprise, he saw Evan smiling gently at him.

Then in one quick motion, Evan spun around, gun pointed at Wild Fang. "I'm sorry, monsieur, but I think you guys are the evil ones here!" He said boldly.

"Whatー?!" Wild Fang flinched, startled.

Although Evan would certainly have thought twice about killing someone, he had no remorse this timeーnot after seeing how Wild Fang had killed all those innocent vampires in cold blood. He felt that he had to put a stop to it even if it meant dirtying his hands. Shutting down his thoughts, he pulled the trigger, shooting Wild Fang through the head.

The sight of blood as his bullet hit its mark made Evan sick to his stomach. Wild Fang's body fell back, but before he could land on the ground, he stuck a leg back, stopping his fall. Evan's eyes widened in shock.

"You..." Wild Fang groaned, swaying and straightening himself up again, glaring daggers at Evan as blood trickled down from the hole in his forehead. "You lying BITCH!"

"MERDE!" Evan cursed, hurriedly holding his gun up again after almost dropping it.

But by then, Wild Fang was already in front of him. Wasting no time, he grabbed Evan by the arm and slammed him down to the ground with all his strength. Evan gasped from the pain.

"Fooling me all this time! Who do you think you're messing with?!" Wild Fang got down to straddle him, giving him a beating. "If you're their friend, then no one will mind me killing you!"

In his fit of anger, Wild Fang seemed to have forgotten about Giorgio completely. Giorgio took the chance to quickly dig the remnant bullet shells out of his thigh. Grabbing his torn-off leg and sticking it back to himself, he let his blood slowly reattach his muscles.

"Come on...!" He growled, begging the wound to heal faster.

In the meantime, Evan was doing his best to shield himself with his arms. Wild Fang's punches were brutal, but he held on. Eventually, Wild Fang stopped, panting to catch his breath. Evan peered at him in fear, wondering what was going to happen to him. He saw Wild Fang draw a dagger from his belt.

"This is lathered with Basilisk poison," Wild Fang said, "I've only ever used it on those vampire scums, so I really wonder... how much more painful this would be when applied to a human!"

Evan looked at him with horror. A dark smirk creeping across his face, Wild Fang stabbed the blade into Evan's stomach, and he screamed louder than he ever had as a burning sensation tore through his body.

"EVAN!"

His leg finally back in working order, Giorgio charged at Wild Fang. Completely taken by surprise, Wild Fang gasped, unable to retaliate. Giorgio drew out his blood sword and decapitated him in one clean swipe, before kicking his body away.

"Evan!" He knelt down, pulling Evan into his arms. Evan was shaking violently, desperately holding onto his stomach as he wailed in pain. Tears spilled out uncontrollably from his eyes as he held onto Giorgio and begged for his life.

A loud horn sounded in the air and Giorgio looked up. One of the vampires at the submarine's entrance shouted at him.

"Lord Bruno! We're leaving! HURRY!"

"Tch...!" Glaring at the hopeless battlefield before him, Giorgio lifted Evan, running up the stairs into the submarine.

The door was closed behind him and the submarine submerged itself. Once it was fully underwater, it began to leave the pier.

"They're getting away! Shoot them down!" Wild Fang's men shouted at each other, readying their rocket launchers.

The vampire head guard looked at them from the ground, half-dead and tired, having been shot with a lot of bullets. Even so, he felt satisfied, seeing that Giorgio had boarded the submarine and departed safely with the others.

Glad that he had done his job well, he smiled, pulling a remote out of his coat and pressing its button.

Giorgio gasped when he saw the ocean water outside the submarine's window light up brightly, accompanied by a series of loud noises.

The explosives at the piers had gone off.

"..." He stayed silent there for a moment, deep grief befalling him as he knew that more lives had been lost. Hoping that the souls of the fallen might find peace, Giorgio went back to tending to Evan.

* * *

_Piers, Secret community base, Le Havre 06:05_

The dust had settled after the great battle.

Remnants of dying flames continued to burn, smoke and ashes filling the air. The dead bodies of hunters littered the ruins of the vampire hideout. In all the chaos, a man clad in a trench coat walked by himself, hands in his pockets. His face was indifferent, as if the scenery was something that he had always been used to seeing. He stopped near a pile of rocks.

"Hmm..." Studying the pile, Wild Dog put a hand onto his chin. Bending down, he removed the rocks little by little, eventually finding Wild Fang's head buried underneath. Wild Dog smiled to himself.

"Heh, worked really hard this time as well, didn't you?" He remarked.

Wild Fang had been his loyal apprentice since his days as a human. When Wild Dog decided that he would bear the burden of vanquishing the vampires, Wild Fang had told him that he wanted to be there to support him, and they had given up their souls together. And so to this day, Wild Dog saw him as his most treasured friend.

Smiling, he meticulously removed the debris from the head before lifting it carefully. He then looked around for his apprentice's body.

Once he found it lying on the ground nearby, he walked over to it, kneeling down and positioning Wild Fang's head against his neck, watching as the cut fixed itself. Once it did, Wild Fang's eyes shot open, and he sat up with a scream.

Panting hard, he eventually regained his senses, seeing how everything seemed to be over. Turning around, he saw Wild Dog kneeling there. Eyes watering, he immediately threw himself at him.

"Wild Dog...! Iー I dreamt that I was being killed by vampires again!" He cried.

Wild Dog chuckled, patting Wild Fang softly on his back. His apprentice would behave in such a spoilt manner only around him, so he took the time to comfort him. "There, there. Everything's over now. Can you stand?"

Wild Fang pulled away, nodding lightly as he rubbed his tears from his eyes. Wild Dog helped him up. The two of them looked into the distance in the direction the submarine had gone.

"Heh, they're certainly slippery when they're desperate," Wild Dog said, "Let's go home and regroup for now."

Wild Fang nodded, following his mentor as they left the area. Wild Dog smiled with satisfaction, knowing that they were getting closer and closer to victory each day.


	5. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a bad feeling that this fic will bust 15 chapters =u=;;;  
> (It turned twice as complex as my original intention.)  
> Let's see, let's see~

**【Chapter 5: Nightmare】**

_Submarine 06:11_

"Basilisk poison! Does anyone know how to deal with Basilisk poison?!" Giorgio cried, walking through the submarine and asking its passengers.

Evan had been brought to the infirmary, where the doctor had removed Wild Fang's dagger and bandaged his wound. Unfortunately, no matter what they did, the biting pain caused by the poison didn't seem to subside. Giorgio had gone up and down the vessel afterwards, hoping that someone who knew about the poison's antidote would show up.

But despite his efforts, the other passengers only looked at him sympathetically, unable to offer any help. Frustrated, he strode back to the infirmary to check on Evan.

"He's developing a fever," the doctor told him worriedly.

Giorgio walked over and stood next to Evan's bed, placing the back of his hand against Evan's forehead. It felt so hot. Evan's breathing was heavy and ragged. Unable to do anything but watch helplessly, Giorgio felt the urge to punch somebody. Just how many people would the hunters take away from him before they were satisfied? His life had become a series of endless nightmares.

"Excuse me!" Someone called out, suddenly barging in through the submarine hatch. Giorgio looked there, seeing two young vampires at the infirmary's entrance.

"I'm Alan Dunaway," one of them introduced, "And my friend here's Wesley."

"Wesley Lambert, head of the House of Lambert. Pleased to make your acquaintance," said the other vampire as he bowed gracefully. "Was anyone talking about Basilisk poison?"

Had his savior finally shown up? Giorgio turned to face them, feeling a little relieved. At a glance, he noticed that while Alan looked like an average vampire, there was no mistake that Wesley was a high-class noble vampire like himself. If he wasn't mistaken, the Lambert Coven of England was one of the oldest and biggest covens. Giorgio straightened himself, quickly recalling the lessons taught by his father if he were to meet another noble.

"Giorgio Bruno of the Bruno Family. Pleased to meet you as well," he introduced himself, bowing politely in return. "Yes, a friend has unfortunately fallen to the poison. I'm wondering if you can tell me its antidote."

Noticing Evan behind Giorgio, Alan and Wesley looked at him worriedly. Wesley walked over to him to study his condition for a moment, before looking up at Giorgio.

"He's a human!" Wesley exclaimed in disbelief. Giorgio nodded a little nervously.

"Well, yes. Is there a problem?" He asked. He wasn't sure if Wesley had something against the humans, so he spoke up as a precaution. "I'm not going to let anyone eat him, though. Be prepared to fight me if that's what you're after."

"No, no! It's nothing like that," Wesley replied immediately. "Just wondering what a human is doing all the way here. But well, I guess I'll ask you later."

Digging into his bag, Wesley pulled out a small bottle, handing it over to the doctor. "Here. Basilisk poison is rare and the antidote is hard to get, so I don't have one with me. But this medicine should slow the poison's progress and reduce the pain," he explained.

The doctor nodded, hurriedly taking the bottle and getting ready to administer it to Evan. Wesley walked over to Giorgio.

"The antidoteーI'm sure Lord Miller has some at his castle. I've been there before and he has this huge hospital wing. I guess we just have to bring your friend there," he told Giorgio. Watching them, Alan grinned cheerfully, glad that the situation was now under control. He rushed ahead to help the doctor.

"...Thank you," Giorgio replied gratefully. If he wasn't nervous around the humans, he certainly was around the other vampires. There were still so many things he didn't know about, having never stepped out of Sicily before.

"No problem!" Wesley smiled. He sat neatly on a nearby chair, continuing his conversation with Giorgio. "But that aside, Mr. Giorgio Bruno, is it? I heard about the Bruno Coven. Sorry that it had to happen to you," he said, a little bitterness in his voice.

"Don't be," Giorgio replied, seating himself next to Wesley. He sighed deeply, staring at the floor to avoid showing how broken he felt. "If only I could've done something back there. I... I let everything slip past my fingers."

"..." Wesley watched him sympathetically. From what he had heard in the news, Giorgio wasn't the only one, and he doubted that he would be the last as long as Wild Dog continued his rampage. He placed a supportive hand on Giorgio's shoulder and Giorgio looked up at him.

"I've heard how the Bruno Coven was always ready to accept any vampire in need with open arms," Wesley began, "You're always there when our brothers need you, so I think it's only fair that we return the favor."

"What do you mean?" Giorgio asked doubtfully. Wesley smiled at him.

"As the head of the House of Lambert, I'd like to form an alliance with the Bruno Family. I've also suffered many losses on my way here, so I know how it feels. Feel free to call me for help whenever you need me!"

Giorgio's eyes brightened. Was it for real? Having an entire family backing him up would certainly be helpful, so he agreed and welcomed the new friendship.

"We're done! Your friend should be okay now!" Alan announced, walking back to Giorgio and Wesley happily. Giorgio looked past him at Evan. Although he was practically writhing and tossing in pain earlier, he seemed to have calmed down, much to Giorgio's relief.

"Thanks for helping out, Alan!" Wesley laughed, standing up. He turned to look at Giorgio. "Well, I'll be off to see if my underlings are behaving, so I guess I'll see you next time," he said.

Giorgio nodded at him. "Thanks again. I'll do my best to be worth the alliance," he said, certainly not planning on letting his family lose its pride. Wesley grinned.

"Guess I got myself a good ally!" He said. He then glanced at Evan, before looking back at Giorgio, this time with a rather grave expression.

"A word of warning, though. With all the hunter attacks recently, I've noticed a lot of our brothers developing some resentment towards the humans. When we get to Sercia, do your best to stay with your friend just to be safe."

And with that, Wesley left. Feeling a little unsettled, Giorgio decided to keep the warning in mind.

* * *

Evan felt as though he had gone to hell and back again.

After being stabbed by Wild Fang, he could hear nothing but his own screams and feel nothing but pain. Tossing and turning, he slipped in and out of consciousness. Nightmares plagued him, and every part of him told him that he shouldn't be here. It felt like the end of the world.

But strangely enough, at one point, the pain ebbed away and the nightmares stopped completely. Looking through his blurred vision, he saw that he was in some sort of infirmary. Was this inside the submarine? He thought that he saw Giorgio across the room, speaking with a blond and a brunette. He wanted to call out to them, but feeling extremely exhausted, he let himself fall into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

_Hospital Wing, Miller Coven, Sercia 19:03_

The next time Evan opened his eyes, he found himself in the comfort of warm sheets. It was dark outside. Giorgio was sitting next to him with a book, absorbed in reading. The wound on his stomach throbbed when he tried to move and he groaned, catching Giorgio's attention.

"Evan!" Giorgio laid down his book and stood up, looking at Evan with concern.

"No, no. I'm okay," Evan convinced him, dragging himself up so he was in a sitting position. Giorgio helped him.

"Gods, that was the worst." Evan sighed, looking around him to make out where he was. It seemed that they were in a huge hospital room, with a lot of beds nearby. The walls and floors were made of stone. Another thing to notice was that most of the beds were filled with the injured.

"Is this... Lord Miller's Castle? We made it safely?!" Evan exclaimed in excitement when the realization hit him. Giorgio smiled at him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes. Yes we did," he said. Evan couldn't help grinning back. But recalling what happened before they got into the submarine, he quickly looked down towards Giorgio's legs, only to see that they were completely alright. He stared with disbelief.

"He didn't blow it up into pieces, so I was still able to get it to fix itself," Giorgio explained.

"And it reattached just like that? Sick!" Evan replied, squinting at the leg. Giorgio laughed.

"Well, that aside, I think you should rest and go back to sleep. I'll be here to watch over you," he suggested. But Evan shook his head quickly.

"No, never! I just saw Wild Fang with three heads running after me! Don't wanna see that again for awhile..." he protested.

"Heh, fine. In that case, I guess you can just lie down," Giorgio told him. But then Evan's stomach made the loudest growl. He grinned sheepishly as Giorgio studied him.

"Or maybe we can go and grab you something to eat," he said, before offering Evan a hand, "Can you walk?"


End file.
